Paisley, Keith, Bryan headline Watershed Festival

Friday, March 8, 2013 – The Watershed Music Festival announced Friday that Luke Bryan, Toby Keith and Brad Paisley will headline the Washington festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre Aug. 2-4.

Lee Brice, Terri Clark, Kip Moore, Thompson Square, Chris Young and more with late night sets at the "World Famous Late Night Honky Tonk" by Shooter Jennings and Blackberry Smoke will be part of the festival.

Three-day festival passes and camping go on sale Friday, March 15 at www.watershedfest.com and www.ticketmaster.com and www.livenation.com. Camping starts at $110, and festival passes are priced at $149 including taxes and fees.

"This time last year as we were getting ready to announce the first year of this festival, we knew we had a great location and a unique concept for country fans, but we didn't know how amazing the weekend would turn out to be," said Brian O'Connell, five-time ACM Promoter of the Year and President of Live Nation, Nashville. "We were blown away by the fans and the support from the artists. We have some new surprises planned for this year and hope to keep making it bigger and better year after year."

CD reviews for Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley isn't content to keep doing the same old. In fact, this is probably the least traditional country outing in his career. Yet, a few things remain intact - great guitar playing and singing and a sense of humor without being too kitschy.
In fact, Paisley manages to combine the ultra serious with his typical sense of humor. The seriousness is never more apparent from Paisley than on the controversial Accidental Racist with LL Cool J, who helped write and perform it. »»»

Brad Paisley's new live hits CD is a bit of a tease. That's because it only goes half way in replicating the true live Paisley experience. Watching the accompanying concert videos at a Paisley show, whether the venue screen is showing Andy Griffith during Waitin' on a Woman or the montage of recently-deceased celebrities that accompanies When I Get Where I'm Going, reveal how Paisley simply must be seen to be fully enjoyed.
Nevertheless, Paisley in concert and captured on »»»

Brad Paisley has grown up on his eighth album. Yes, the West Virginian maintains a sense of humor, but apparently aging has left its mark on a maturing singer who has never forsaken his country roots. That is ever so apparent in songs like Anything Like Me and Oh Yeah, You're Gone. The former finds Paisley looking at the passage of time through his son's life in a tender, but not sappy look. On the latter, he's a five-year-old boy who doesn't get what he wants, which his grandfather notices. »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Watkins steps out on his own –
At the ripe old age of 39, Sean Watkins is doing things a bit differently when it comes to his music. By far the biggest sign is that he is in the midst of his first ever solo headlining tour.
That may seem a bit odd almost after having released four solo albums since 2001.
But when you have your main gig being in the trio Nickel Creek, pus other... »»»

Concert Review: No surprise, Jackson and friends still Keepin' It Country –
Alan Jackson calling his current tour Keepin' It County reads like one of those 'no duh' statements because the Georgia born singer/songwriter has always kept his music traditional - even in the face of the continuing rock and pop-ization of contemporary country music. But keep it country he did once again for a sold out audience on the... »»»

Some in the mainstream country audience may only know Angaleena Presley as one of the two other singers in Miranda Lambert's side group, Pistol Annies. But to view Presley in only that limited light would be selling her severely short. For starters, Pistol Annies is a trio of extra strong female country music writers and by no means merely Lambert's side group.... »»»

Jorma Kaukonen has reached that stage in life where any break he takes is well earned and completely deserved. The 74-year-old singer/songwriter is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his work with Jefferson Airplane and his solo career has kept him busy - and fans deliriously happy - for an astonishing 41 years when he's not sometimes playing with Hot Tuna.... »»»

The last time Kenny Roby assembled 6 String Drag to record a new studio album, Bill Clinton had just handily secured his second term as president. That album was 1997's acclaimed "High Hat," and within months of its release, 6SD had dissolved, sadly capping a brief Americana/roots rock run that had seemed so promising after their brilliant 1994 self-titled debut...... »»»

The first album by James McMurtry in six years proves that some simply get better with age. And it opens with a gorgeous, deliberate performance, "Copper Canteen," and a line about cleaning his gun before hunting season comes to a close. From there, McMurtry looks back at his youth and the changing world today "before the pension kicks in." »»»

Over the more than 20 years since upstate (way, way upstate) New York natives Eric and Leigh Gibson debuted on the bluegrass scene, it has been more or less de rigueur for the journalists and reviewers who write about them to link them to the long and proud tradition - especially in country music in all its forms - of siblings... »»»

The Mavericks returned in 2013 with an acclaimed new album and much touring after nearly a decade's absence. Here they are back again in 2015, minus one of their founding members, but with another dynamite new effort. »»»

In the Instagram era where people use apps to turn digital snapshots into sepia-toned portraits, Steve Earle's 16th studio release finds its place with an old-school sound. It's a Polaroid of rural country, blues and bluegrass frozen in time. But instead of outdated, it plays on the nostalgia of its modern audience. »»»